Pet Project 365: Day Twelve

Day Twelve: Winner winner, chicken dinner.

-Cynthia

"Nutrition Myths": Conflicting Facts for a Vet. Tech. Student and a Pet Owner

   Now that I am actually learning some of the medical aspects of veterinary medicine in my Small Animal Medicine I class, I am reaching conflicts with what I am being taught and what my opinion is. Things regarding nutrition, vaccination, preventatives, and so on are really making me think about what I should believe.

   I was recently given an article from the Winter 2010 edition of the NAVTA journal titled "Nutrition Myths". I read through it, attempting to be open-minded, and figured I'd share what I read, and my responses, here on My Household Zoo. I will go through one myth a day, because I'd rather not bore you guys to death. :P

   Myth #1: "Meat by-products are inferior in quality compared to whole meat in a diet". According to this article and the AAFCO, meat is defined as

"any combination of skeletal striated muscle or that muscle found in tongue, diaphragm, heart, esophagus with or without the accompanying and overlying fat and the portions of the skin, senew, nerve, and blood vessels which normall accompany the muscle derived from part of whole carcasses. It also must be suitable for use in animal foods. This excludes feathers, heads, feet and entrails."

On the other hand, meat by-products are defined as

"non-rendered, clean parts of the carcass which may contain lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, liver, blood, bone, heads, feet(of poultry), partially defatted fatty tissues, stomach and intestines emptied of their contents. It does not include hair, horns, teeth or hooves."

The article then claims that the amount of non-digestible material found in a particular food depends on the manufacturer. The ash content is a good way to determine digestibility; a high ash content means the food is not as easily digested.

To be quite honest with you, I have no concerns with feeding my dogs or cats the ingredients mentioned in the definition of by-products. Most wild animals would consume these things any which way. Depending on how you look at it, some of those materials may even be beneficial, like extra calcium in bones, and extra iron in liver and blood. Wild animals will normally leave the intestines, but I assume that is because of the contents, which are emptied in order to create meat by-products. So +1 for this "myth busting" article.

My concerns: unless it is a specified type of by-product, what animal is it coming from? And even if it is specified, is that by-product fresh, or is it from cattle that have been down for days? Regardless, a healthy ratio of meat should be present as well. Wild animals would eat much more meat than organs and bones. There's no mention about these points in the article, so it failed to sway my opinion in that aspect.

-Cynthia

Pet Project 365: Day Eleven

Day Eleven: Movie time for the two-leggers means nap time for the doggers.

-Cynthia

Pet Project 365: Day Ten

Day Ten: Like I said, crazy Indiana weather. You may need to click it to full-size it so you can see my abominable snowdog.

-Cynthia

Crazy Warm Here In Indiana

   Does anyone find it a little weird that I was raking leaves in late January, in Northern Indiana?(Don't ask why, just look at the circumstances.)

   Or how about the fact that I shoveled and within two days there was no point to it?

   And let's not forget this picture:

   Jack is definitely missing the snow. There have only been two time periods where it was deep enough for us tough Indianers to consider it real snow, and they lasted under a week. Zora could really care less, and Midget is actually kind of happy she doesn't have to bunny hop through the snow to go potty, but Jack is definitely bummed out. Snow brings out his inner puppy.

   When we got home from vacation earlier this month, the first thing he did when he got out of the car was jump around and bite at the snow flakes and the snow on the ground.

From Jack and myself: Please come back, snow! Just do us the favor of not falling onto the street or sidewalks and not causing visibility issues for drivers.

-Cynthia

Pet Project 365: Day Nine

-Cynthia

Pet Project 365: Day Eight

-Cynthia

Rear Gear: No More Mr. Brown Eye!

   I just discovered the most amazing thing ever. It's funny, it is original, and maybe it serves a purpose.

   Rear Gear.

No more Mr. Brown Eye.

   The Rear Gear etsy shop sells dog and cat butt covers, in many different designs including: 

disco ball, heart, flower, biohazard, smiley face, number one ribbon, cupcake, sheriff's badge, dice, and you can even make yours custom, so there’s a Rear Gear for everyone.

   I suppose maybe there's not much more to say. It speaks for itself. For the low cost of $5, you can buy it to entertain family and friends as long as your dog or cat enjoys being the life of the party, "appease" to your pointy-nosed house guests, or solve your pet's insecurity about their bare bum.

   It looks to be made of paper, so unless your dog enjoys wearing things on their bum it probably won't last long. Directly from the product description,

REAR GEAR IS A NOVELTY PRODUCT NOT INTENDED FOR EVERYDAY USE

   They're hand made in the good ol' United States of America.

   My only question: Do they come in large?? Big Dog = Big Butt.

-Cynthia

Photos from Rear Gear's Etsy Shop.

Pet Project 365: Day Seven

Day Seven: "I don't care what you say, Mumz. I am not a dog. Dogs are gross. And I'm not putting my precious face anywhere near a gross dog."

(True Story.)

-Cynthia

Pet Project 365: Day Six

Day Six: Okay, so it's not related to any of my pets. But today is my birth son, Nathan's, birthday, so I'm going to go ahead and post some pictures of him with a pet. Happy first birthday, Nathan!

-Cynthia

Pet Project 365: Day Five

Day Five: Goodmorning, Darlingssss. For anyone interested, Mrs. Copper is only down 46 grams since she started brumating almost two months ago, and Mr. Copper is only down 5 grams.

Yes yes, I know, horrible me. I'm already late not even a week into the project. Forgive me please, my final exam is tomorrow. :)

-Cynthia

Pet Project 365: Day Four

Day Four: "Okay mumz, 'nuff teasins! It's dinner time!"

-Cynthia

eRubbermaid's "Roughneck Homes" Program

   Some of my Facebook followers may have seen me post a link to this yesterday, and today I will blog about it because I'm actually super excited about it. I've had an interest in feral kitties for my whole life, but only recently have I started to take care of the feral cats in my neighborhood. The other day my mom teased me about shoveling a "special" path for the cats to reach their food and shelter, but I am happy to be able to make a difference in their lives.

Photo from Michiana Feral Cat Initiative's Facebook Page

   Yesterday, Michiana Feral Cat Initiative posted a link to eRubbermaid's "Roughneck Homes" Program on Facebook. Outdoor cat shelters can easily be crafted out of Rubbermaid totes, and feral cat keepers have been making them this way for awhile. eRubbermaid, despite the fact that it is this ginormous company, took notice and they now have a special page dedicated to education on feral cat care.

Screenshot taken from eRubbermaid.com. Click for full-size view.

   On this web page, you can find instructions to build a feral cat shelter, links to articles on other websites about feral cats, and access to wholesale-priced Rubbermaid totes. I freaking love this. I love when a large company takes note of community-related causes and they pay attention to how their customers are actually using their product. I think these wholesale prices(18 gallons for $6.00 or 36 gallons for $11.00) are a great starting point for people interested in taking care of their neighborhood feral cats or for people who would like to donate one(or a few!) to a feral cat organization.

Photo from ABC Clinic of Pet Refuge's Facebook Page. Their 100th surgery was a feral!

    Kudos, eRubbermaid, because I am sure these low priced bins will help to save perhaps hundreds of cats' lives this winter. I challenge my readers to learn about their local feral cat resources, including organizations and low-cost TNR(trap, neuter, return) clinics, and then make a difference: donate a bin, start taking care of your local ferals, or donate your time to your local organization and help to trap and transport cats to be spayed or neutered.

-Cynthia

Pet Project 365: Day Three

Day Three: I found lil babies in the mouse tank today. <3 Hoping they make it, I haven't really seen many babies yet since the weather cooled.

-Cynthia

Pet Project 365: Day 2

   Day Two: "Wake up naow plz!" The face that greets me nearly every morning. As soon as I open my eyes. Oh no, no going back to sleep for me. He has to do his morning p-o-t-t-y. :)

-Cynthia

Pet Project 365: Give Me NOMS!!

   I just read about the Pet Project 365 over at Kol's Notes, which is being hosted by Kolchak and Lulu and Wally. I thought it was a great idea; I've always kind of wanted to do something similar but I lacked motivation I suppose. With this project, I found my motivation in:
    a) a blog hop and
    b) no rules! Yay! I can do it however I want. My simple minded brain never thought of starting a 365 project with no specific theme besides pets, but that's what will make me do it every day. Because conforming to a theme seems like a chore.

   Besides, it's a great idea. I get a little teary-eyed when I think back to Ren and Stimpy most recently, and other pets that have passed on, and I realize how I took almost no pictures of them. Pets, whether Riley-sized or Jack-sized, do not stay on this earth with us long enough, so memories are all the more precious. And what better way to describe a memory than a photo?

   Anyways, here's what I'm going to do:

   I am going to take a few pictures of one/some of my "zoo members" every day.

   I am going to try to post at least one picture every day. If not, I will catch up on the day that I do get to posting.

   I am going to try to alternate who the pictures are of. One day the rats, next day one of the dogs, next day the snakes, and so on.

   Maybe I will include a little story with my picture. Maybe not. It depends.

   Thanks for the motivation Kolchak, Lulu, and Wally!

   GO!:

Day One: Every night, before I go to bed, during my nightly check on the ratties, they all get a little gerber puff treat. It's how I make up for my paranoia-induced daily physical exams, because rats develop tumors and abscesses and go downhill way too quickly </3.

-Cynthia

Pampering Jack

Photo from EO

   Confession: I've never used conditioner on the dogs' coats. I always told myself that it was a "long haired dog" or "show dog" thing.

   Last year, we won a EO Natural Dog Grooming Gift Set over at Bocci's Beefs. Included was a bottle of lavender and aloe shampoo, a bottle of lavender and aloe conditioner, and a bottle of citrus and mint freshener/detangler spray. I'm going to come out right now and say that we have no use for the detangling aspect of the spray. Medium haired dogs FTW.

  I haven't had a chance to use these wonderfully scented products until just recently. I took the spray with me to Miami to keep Jack smelling fresh at Jonathan's parents' house. Who likes stinky guests, right?? It worked pretty good and kept his coat soft.

  Just yesterday I used the shampoo and conditioner on Jack. Wow! Today he still smells.. nice. Not once did I notice a wet dog odor. I've never experienced such a miracle elixir. His coat is really fluffy and soft, which I am crediting to the conditioner because that usually doesn't happen. Another bonus: it hasn't made him itch more. Some shampoos do that. Yay. :) And let's not forget to mention the fact that it's natural. I really don't like putting unnecessary chemicals on my pups.

   Thanks to Bocci and Joan over at Bocci's Beefs for hosting the giveaway and the folks at EO for sponsoring the giveaway. Zora is the conditioner's next challenge; her hair is like a bristle brush.

-Cynthia

Wordless Wednesday: Cute n Furry

-Cynthia

Training for Zora and Myself

   What were training for?

   Well, honestly.. We were both training ourselves in the ancient art of patience.

   I was also tuning up my "photography" *cough* skills.

   And Zora was tuning up her "wait" and "leave it" skills.

   All in all, I had a blast. Even though I'm pretty sure my mom thought I was performing some torturous new veterinary technician experiment on her. Apparently, she missed Zora begging at her feet while she was cooking dinner and I had Zora locked in the room for a photography session.

   Anyways, we were using these awesome Addiction Meaty Bites treats. They look like little meat balls, and they are so easy to break up into tiny training sized bites. They also have unique protein sources, which I'm all for. These are made with wild brushtail, which I can only assume means brushtail opossum. I'd post a picture, but I almost think they are too cute to eat.






 












   I believe dogs deserve variety.. And not just different brands, folks! I'm sure your pooch would love to try something other than "chicken and rice".

   Zora, Jack, and Midget won these pawsome treats from Kolchak Puggle over at Kol's Notes during the Blogpocalypse last year. Speaking of Kol, I'm linking up to his and Sugar's Tasty Tuesday blog hop! Please hop on over to some of the other links, they have a bunch of delicious recipes.

-Cynthia


P.S. I used tips from Dogtipper's 365 project for these photos! Check it out, it's pretty awesome.

Let's Clarify Some Things: Feline Immunodeficiency Virus

Adopt Nikki from Best Friends Animal Society

Yesterday in class, we had to euthanize a sick kitty who was FIV positive and perform a necropsy/dissection on him. I understand why it was required; finding a home for such a kitty would've been quite difficult, and the shelter does not have the resources to pay for treatment for every sick cat that comes through their doors.

Adopt Hope from Independant Cat Society

   We had a good lecture about FIV before we began the necropsy. Most of the things that were said were facts that I've heard before, having volunteered at several shelters, dealing with stray cats, and being a cat owner myself. I am by no means an expert in Feline Immunodeficiency Virus; I just want to pass a couple of facts along in the hope that I can change at least one person's mind about FIV cats.

• FIV is not a death sentence. Many FIV cats live long, happy lives.
• FIV makes cats more prone to illness. Immunodeficiency, according to Dictionary.com, means, "impairment of the immune response, predisposing to infection and certain malignancies". This means a more proactive approach to health, possibly including things such as a high quality diet, nutritional supplements, and more veterinary health exams and screenings.
• FIV is passed from cat-to-cat mainly by biting. Some kittens may contract FIV by nursing from their FIV-positive mother, however this is not always the case and such kittens should be tested around the 9 to 12 month mark. False positives are possible before this age. There is also some speculation that it may be sexually transmitted.
• The best way to prevent FIV in your cat is to not allow it to roam around outside, and have all cats tested before they enter your home.
• An estimated 2% of cats in the United States are FIV positive. It is more common in intact males, because of their frequent sparring with other male cats.
• The vaccine will not fully protect a cat from FIV. I don't remember the exact percentage, but I believe my instructor said it was 70-80% effective.



Adopt Lacey from Pet Refuge

• The FIV vaccine causes FIV tests to come up with a false positive. Because of this, the vaccine is only recommended for cats that go outside or live with other FIV positive cats.

   Knowing these things, I've added "giving a loving home to an FIV positive cat" onto my bucket list. I challenge my fellow cat lovers to do the same! If any of the FIV positive cats pictured in this post tug at your heart, please click the link below them to learn how to adopt them.

-Cynthia

Bin Cage for Tiny Pets

   When we got our African Soft Furred Rats, I tried to think of an affordable enclosure that was cheaper than buying a tank. We only had extra ten gallons laying around, and in my opinion those are too small for African Soft Furred Rats. After searching the internet for awhile, I came across these instructions and I fell in love.

    My lovely boyfriend made it for us the same night we picked up the ASFs. It ended up taking all day, a lot longer than we expected, but he got it done. The only thing we did different was that we used the wire that was wrapped around the hardware cloth to attach the hardware cloth lid to the plastic, ensuring that the rats couldn't chew it.

   Many people don't trust the enclosure due to ASFs remarkable chewing ability with plastic. I've only had one problem so far, and while it was a big problem, we've fixed it and now we're 99% sure that there is no way for the little buggers to get around it. When I would take the water bottle out to refill it, they would use that opportunity to chew the edges of the hole where the sipper tube goes through. Eventually, it was at a point where they could chew it even with the water bottle in. That's when we had some escapees on our hands. Luckily, I was right there, and I managed to catch the stinker with bribery.. AKA puppy food. I was lucky that it was an ASF and not a mouse. They are so much more calm and collected; less likely to spook and run.

   Anyways, we fixed that problem by putting a square segment of hardware cloth over the sipper tube hole. Voila! Let's see you access an edge of plastic now, you sneaky little cuties!

   All in all, I love this cage compared to an aquarium. It's lighter, it's easier to clean, I don't have to open it up and invade my rodents' "personal space" when feeding them(which is very important when they have babies), and the wheel was easy to install and I don't have problems with it tipping. I'm sure it would make a good enclosure for hamsters, gerbils, and mice as well, or a good travel cage for larger pocket pets. I'd really like one for the mice as well, but they are a little bit of a pain to make because you have to worry about the plastic cracking when you cut it. Some better tools would definitely make this plastic tub enclosure an easier project.

-Cynthia

Wordless Wednesday: Me Too, Jack. Me Too.

-Cynthia

Review: Mr. Chewy, an Online Pet Food Retailer

   Maybe it's just a girl thing, but I love shopping online. Well, I love shopping period, but online shopping is the best because I am at home, comfy, perhaps in my PJs, and I have time to shop around, compare prices, and read reviews on products I'm thinking of purchasing. One of my favorite things to shop online for are... Wait for it.. Pet supplies! Treats, toys, and supplies to spoil my menagerie.

   That's why I was really happy to receive an offer to review Mr. Chewy, an online pet food retailer. I have not yet delved into the world of having my pet food shipped directly to my door, mainly due to the cost of shipping food for three dogs. Guess what? Mr. Chewy fixes this problem for me! All orders over $49 receive free 1-2 day shipping.

That right there would be reason enough for me to go check the place out. I mean, who doesn't like to save some money? But in case you want to know more, here's my overall summary:

Organization:  Coming from an online shopaholic(or at least an online window shopaholic), MrChewy.com has great organization. They have buttons for their dog food, dog treats, potty pads, cat food, cat treats, cat litter, and flea and tick products. From these sections of the website, you can further narrow things down by specifications like brand, form, life stage, specialty category, best sellers, price, and new items.

Selection:   With over 70 brands, I definitely did not have a hard time finding my dogs' and cats' favorites. At the same time, I was also introduced to several new brands, one of which I decided to try out and the kitties love it! Princess and Zoomie offer their personal thank-mew to Mr. Chewy for helping their server/maid/etc find a great new brand.

Shipping:   As far as shipping.. Is my opinion biased because their selection, organization, and appearance of the website already had me so happy? You tell me. My package got here two days after I ordered it. Amazing. Honestly, that is the fastest shipping I have received from any online retailer, ever. I made my order at 12 A.M. on December 20th and it was shipped the same day at 2 P.M.


Packaging:  The box arrived in great condition. It was packed with brown packing paper, a great recyclable alternative to Styrofoam packing peanuts. The case of canned cat food was also wrapped with the paper; it was heavy and I'm sure this helped to prevent it from damaging other items in the box. None of the items in the box showed any signs of damage. Perfect!

Customer Service:  Mr. Chewy's people are great. I can tell that they care about their customers. They even have a live online customer service representative chat, and you can call them at 1-800-MR-CHEWY from 8 A.M. to 8 P.M. EST every day of the week and weekend.

Other Cool Facts: Mr. Chewy offers scheduled deliveries, a great convenience that I am considering putting to use for my purchases of flea preventative. You get free 1-2 day shipping on orders over $49, and orders under $49 only cost $4.95 to ship. If you're not happy with the product you purchased, you can return it up to 365 days from the time you purchased it for a refund. They even pay for return shipping. When you place your order, you can check the status of it on their website and they give you a tracking number so that you can see where your package is at any time. If you refer a friend and they order from the website, your friend gets 10% off of their order and Mr. Chewy will donate $10 to a partner charity of your choice.

    If I had to make one request to Mr. Chewy, it would be this: Please cater to my tiny furry friends, too! They'd love to get a big ol' bag of rodent blocks when the dogs get their food, and the whole half hour drive to get their special food can be tiring for us humans. For myself, a pocket pet/exotic pet section would make the website nothing short of perfect; and if I was only a dog/cat parent, it would be perfect, so I encourage all of you to check it out and see for yourself how great they are. If you decide to use their scheduled delivery service, you will get 15% off your order; and don't forget about the free speedy shipping on your order of $49 or more!

-Cynthia

Icky Teefers

   Teefers. The reason I believe Midget is like, way old. Not way old, but older than Jack. Jack has nearly perfect teeth despite my not so perfect care of them, and he is five years old. Midget's teeth are way worse, but our veterinarian said it looks like she is only two or three years old. Huh. Maybe that's because he didn't want to get too close of a look, considering she was displaying her wild alligator side for the first time that I've ever seen. Or maybe, Jack is just lucky.

   Brushing Midget's teeth can be a pain because of her small mouth. While looking for alternatives, I was happy to find Only Natural Pet's All Smiles Oral Care Spray. It's natural, and its just two simple little spritz in her mouth every day. Perfect! I started using it today. Midget was quite intrigued by the strange sensation and taste, another good sign! She doesn't run and hide when I want to clean her teeth! I have enough All Smiles Oral Care Spray to last 120 days. I will post an update then with new pictures and information on whether or not it helped with her funky breath, or maybe sooner if I see great improvement! Be sure to check back.

 *Only Natural Pet supplied a 1 oz. bottle of All Smiles Oral Care in exchange for my review of the product.

-Cynthia